As far as [legal] upgrading is concerned, however, there is simply no way to upgrade (or clean install) for free from Home Premium to Professional. (Even the now cancelled TechNet Subscription and the academics' DreamSpark program have annual costs for their amazing benefits.)

The easiest, and probably cheapest, way would be to use the inbuilt Windows Anytime Upgrade, which should set you back about $90.)

It may be worth waiting, however, for the release of Windows 10. (Microsoft recently announced a free upgrade from Windows 7 or 8 to Windows 10, which is a first for them. Heck, they are even allowing pirated copies of Windows to upgrade to Windows 10...

Of course, the equivalent version of Windows 10 may not have the features of Windows 7 Professional that you require, in which case you will either have to stump up the $90, but bear in mind mainstream support for Windows 7 ended in January and only important security updates will be provided after that until January 2020...

Thanks I appreciate you taking the time to respond. I probably wasn'tt very clear in my wording. If I only upgrade from Home Premium to Professional I will lose several apps. If you look at the last comparison link you posted you can that they are no's from app locker down. App locker can create policies, but cannot enforce. Which is still better than 7 premium. I don't mind paying $90 I just dont want ti pay the $140 to jump to ultimate.